Trains, public transit make catching a Phillies game easy

Pennsylvania's trains and public transit are an underutilized resource argues Dale Davenport.

Amtrak's Keystone 664 departed Harrisburg right on time last Sunday en route to Philadelphia, where the Phillies were to play the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park.

By the time I boarded, about 10 minutes ahead of its scheduled 9:30 departure, all the window seats had been taken, and the remaining ones gradually filled as we rolled through Middletown, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy and Lancaster. As we came up the stairs in 30th Street Station, only about five minutes late, a long line of folks stood ready to take our place on the train bound for New York.

While game day apparel for most baseball fans nowadays includes at least one article of team clothing, there was remarkably little of it among Amtrak passengers. That made it easier to spot son Brian, who was responsible for this early Father's Day treat, when his train arrived 20 minutes later.

But it was kind of sad, and it stood in stark contrast to the scene at Philadelphia's magnificent sports complex, where it seemed like nearly everyone sported a T-shirt or team shirt in support of either the Phils or the Sox.

Inexplicably, this was my first visit to South Philadelphia since they built the baseball park and adjacent Lincoln Financial (football) Field and blew up Veterans Stadium. I was impressed. While the Vet stood as an imposing but ultimately cold monument to the "modern" architecture of the '60s and early '70s -- duplicated in several major league cities -- these stadia exude a sense of intimacy, where players and fans seem closer to one another.

And however luxurious the amenities might be for the athletes, the creature comforts for fans in these new arenas are manifold. You can find just about any kind of food imaginable along the wide concourse surrounding the lower-level seats in Citizens Bank Park, so if spectators sometimes appear scarce on TV, it could well be that most are under cover, enjoying a cheesesteak and a Yuengling.

The Phillies won the game, which made for a generally jovial atmosphere afterward in the Broad Street subway station, where we caught an express train uptown. A quick transfer under City Hall, and I was soon back at 30th Street to await a pleasant ride home, including a snooze.

Dale Davenport

And it gave me time to reflect on what I had experienced: Passenger rail is a great asset to a community, yet it remains a sort of novelty. It certainly is not promoted in a way that lures people out of their cars. If you've been to the ballpark and had a couple of beers, the train is the safer way home. The Harrisburg Parking Authority ought to offer special rates for rail passengers and promote game day excursions. I know folks who catch the train in Middletown solely because there's free parking at its station.

The Philadelphia subway appears under-utilized, perhaps because it's well-worn to an extent that it seems outdated and even shoddy. Despite a crowd of 45,000 at last Sunday's game, we waited no more than 10 minutes for our train. By contrast, last year it took the better part of an hour to board a jammed train in Washington's modern Metro system after a Nationals game (though it might be different this year because of the team's record.) Note: There's plenty of parking at most Metro terminals.

The priority for public works spending in this country is clear once you get to the sporting event. Local and state governments have been quick to pony up hundreds of millions of dollars to support lucrative sports franchises and their highly paid athletes, while subway stations can go years needing a fresh coat of paint. The contrary view on all this is that people want to drive to the game (or wherever). Give them plenty of (expensive) parking and expand the highways to accommodate the traffic.

But I wonder: If we can be persuaded by clever, effective marketing to buy a certain product, travel to a certain theme park or even change our habits, why can't we be similarly enticed onto public transportation? If we made it attractive and touted its advantages, wouldn't they come? It only took building one to get them to the ballpark.
Dale Davenport: daledavenport@comcast.net.